Ceylon Tea Trails, Sri Lanka
The ultimate experience for tea lovers
Beyond the bustle of Colombo and tourist-magnet tea country towns of Nuwara Eliya and Ella lies a small haven. It’s the perfect spot for travellers that crave nature, beautiful landscapes, quiet, space and… tea.
Ceylon Tea Trails is the world’s first tea bungalow resort – a unique concept but one that seems to perfectly complement the tranquil setting – mountains, a lake and lush tea fields.
Heading towards our boat pick up from one side of Castlereagh Lake to the other
On my recent trip to Sri Lanka, I was lucky enough to enjoy the magical setting and experience of the Ceylon Tea Trails including a tea tour at their tea fields and factory, Dunkeld Estate, followed by a tea-infused lunch at Dunkeld Bungalow, one of five beautiful colonial era tea planter residences on the resort property – all of which are owned by Dilmah.
The Estate and Bungalow are perched above Castlereagh lake – offering sweeping views of both the beautiful blue lake and the Great Western mountain range.
The view from the top of Dunkeld Estate looking down at Castlereagh Lake
Tea pluckers baskets
THE TEA TOUR
Our Ceylon Tea Trails experience started with a tour of the Dunkled tea fields and tea factory. Lead by our guide, we started an irreversible tea learning journey – from the tea plant and leaves right to the final product that we place into our tea pots. Looking at tea will never be the same again – in a good way. You come to appreciate the work that goes in to producing a small handful of tea leaves.
The tea sifting machine
The magnificent view of Castlereagh lake from inside the Dunkeld tea factory
The tea sifting machines
A tea picker manually plucking tea leaves
Many relics from yesteryear at the tea factory
The withered leaf tea sifting machine
Photos at Dunkeld Tea Factory capturing moments from year’s past
White tea leaves
Refined tea leaves oxidising
Refined tea leaves after being processed through various machines
Tea cupping – sampling various strengths of tea
Our tea tasting complete with delicious biscuits
White tea tips drying outdoors
Almost the final product – refined tea leaves
THE TEA INFUSED LUNCH
Our tea tour at Dunkeld Estate was followed by a magnificent tea-infused lunch at Dunkeld Bungalow. Each of our four meals had been thoughtfully and beautifully infused with a different type of tea.
I love tea-infused food, so I asked the Dunkeld Bungalow Chef (Gayan Silva) his tips for infusing tea into dishes. In terms of ingredients and flavours he recommended smokier teas with stronger meats like pork, or a Moroccan mint tea for example would be a beautiful pairing for lamb, for chicken he recommends a breakfast tea and for white fish, a jasmine green tea.
If you are wanting to infuse tea into a soup, Gayan suggests brewing the tea first, straining it and mixing through the soup towards the end of the cooking process. For sauces, like a butter sauce for example, he suggested adding the brewed tea directly into the sauce and stirring it through.
The poolside view of the lake from Norwood Lodge, one of the five restored properties on site
The beautiful outdoor dining space at Dunkeld Bungalow
Our tea-infused lunch starter – baby beetroot, orange, feta, pine nuts with spicy Dilmah berry tea sauce
Little details and quiet corners at Dunkeld Estate
French vanilla tea flavoured mushroom soup
The stunning indoor dining room at Dunkeld Bungalow
Main is served – White fish (mullet) with sencha lemongrass tea sauce
The garden view from inside the Bungalow
The living space inside at Dunkeld Bungalow
Dessert with tea of course – Dunkeld Estate Broken Orange Pekoe (B.O.P) tea jelly with hibiscus tea sauce with strawberry, orange, lychee, grapes and mint
Stunning turn of last century portraits inside the Bungalow
A gardener at Dunkeld Bungalow tending to the lush green plants
Consciousness: The produce served at Ceylon Tea Trails is sourced locally in Hatton and Nuwara Eliya. 10% of the Dilmah businesses’ profits go to their MJF Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation.
Bookings: To book your Ceylon Tea Trails experience, visit Resplendent Ceylon.
Website: http://www.resplendentceylon.com/teatrails/
Instagram: @resplendentceylon & @ceylonteatrails
Facebook: Resplendent Ceylon & Ceylon Tea Trails
